A piece of history... and we are a part of it / by Andre (a3k) & Napo (full_on)

Goa is located at India, being its smaller state, surrounded by land on the North, East and South... The Arabian Sea does the rest on its delimitation. Goa’s population is also small. It is very well know on the international circuit by its wonderful beaches, being visited by thousands of tourists every year.

Around the 70's, Goa was the destination of many people that were not pleased with society's values back then, so - Goa - became a place for pilgrims, in search for peace of mind and body relaxation. Many hippies attracted by this life style, packed their few belongings and drove to this magnificent land. During their trips, at Goa beaches parties, many of these people had their first contact with a new breed of music, a special kind of music that was being born on those beaches, the Goa trance.

It happened that some DJs and music producers were continuously developing a musical style that would be very joyful to enjoy while experiencing altered states of perception, and maybe even enhance or make easier to achieve this state. These are the origins of psychedelic trance.

But what is psychedelic music? It has different definitions, one of the most common is: an electronic music style inspired by, or created in, an attempt of playing tricks with the mind, sometimes developing sort of sound games or illusions, and sometimes in a more hypnotic way. These descriptions are frequently associated with the sensations that occasionally can be achieved through the use of psychedelic drugs, which were frequently found on Goa beaches parties.

In the search to create the perfect ambient for a mind stimulating journey, the Goa trance tracks are normally long (usually 6 to 9 minutes long), and integrate diverse elements from different styles of music, specially electronic music, with esoteric lyrics or samples making reference to dreams, visions, aliens, hallucinations, drugs, technology, etc.

Goa trance, or psychedelic trance as it is being referred these days, usually has between 132 and 152 beats per minute, being the faster style of trance. Many attempts were made in order to subdivide this genre into subgenres, the most objective division being into three subgenres: minimal, progressive and full on, in ascending order of beats per minutes and amount of simultaneous elements. More subdivisions are common, but usually they are too subjective. Perhaps the best definition to Goa trance is the music that was being played in "electronic music parties" at Goa, which clearly was not restricted to only one style of music.

This kind of psychedelic music fitted so well with the way of life, the mind altering substances and the whole environment of the parties that electronic music parties became predominant. After sometime, rumours that "wild and magic psychedelic parties" were happening weekly at Goa spread around the world, attracting a lot of new people every year, many of those more interested in enjoy everything as much as they can, but not that much connected with the original ideal of freedom with responsibility, union and respect.

After a short time, psytrance had a big boom at Israel. Many sources claim that one of the main factors causing this fast spreading of psytrance was the fact that many soldiers travelled to Goa in their "post army trips" and brought back psytrance influences, but other factors like having young people producing this kind of music, places to throw the parties (even if illegal places) and the pressure and stress of living in a area with constant conflicts should be considered as well. After that, the genre expanded in many other countries as well, and it is valid to say that Goa has influenced not only the music, but many other aspects of the psychedelic trance scene as it is today.

For example, trying to mimic what happened in Goa, the most typical parties happen at some "natural paradise", like beaches, in the shores of rivers, forests and caves, and there are some decorations with references to Hinduism.

Unfortunately, this boom of psytrance in many places attracted some people who are not related to the original message of freedom and awareness. Artists, DJs and party promoters seeking fame and money instead of making what they love, and people at parties just for drugs are over discussed, maybe because when it comes to this issue everyone points his finger to the next guy, never taking time to analyse their own behaviour.

I particularly believe that psytrance is just a music style, but I know that many psychedelic or mind related themes appear on the decorations and clothes at parties, just like they appear on the samples of the music. This suggests that, on its very core, the music, the visuals and the attitudes shown by some people at the gatherings have a common root. In other words, every music sample and everything around us in a party is a thread, if we manage to put these threads together, we can make a tapestry, and the tapestry tell us a history, and the history is our past...
Respect!

very educating article, thanks!

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so what you're saying is that the people who weren't there should keep out?
I was born at 1985. Do the math yourself. Does it mean I'm not related to the scene, that I'm a different kind of person?
Yes. I wasn't there. But it's definitely not a reason to write "Unfortunately, this boom of psytrance in many places attracted some people who are not related to the original message of freedom and awareness" and so on.

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Hi Mike.
I explained very well, you just have to read.

"Unfortunately, this boom of psytrance in many places attracted some people who are not related to the original message of freedom and awareness."

These people are "seeking fame and money".

I never been at Goa or Israel, I'm poor and never left Brazil. But I'm doing what I love, and I'm not seeking fame or money.

What I'm saying is what is written, stick to that.
Take care.
Respect!

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You seem a bit obssesed about Goa. To tell you, there are enough things happening here that would give trance a bad name. Yes, the overall spirit still exists, but how would you explain that spirit pissing-off the Goan people soooooo much that they decided not to have 'any' trance parties, just to keep this 'holy' vibe of yours away. What this vibe is missing, after a lot of drugs, is to be nice to people who are not in the party, that overall consciousness, that RESPECT for the lives of other people.

I blame Israelis for spoiling Goa...ask me for a proper debate on this if you want...but until then, verrryyyy nice piece. I love ur heart.

THERE IS ANOTHER REASON WHY ISRAEL HAVE SO MUCH TRANCE PARTIES.
TAMIR LEON IS A MAN WHO DID HIS SECOND DEGRY IN ANTROPOLOGY ON TRANCE PARTIES, AFTER INVESTIGATING PARTIES OVER 14 YEARS, MANY OF THOSE YEARS IN INDIA AND ISRAEL.

ON HIS WORK HE CLAIMS THAT FROM THE ANTROPOLGY POINT OF VIEW TRANCE PARTIES ARE A "LIMINAL STATE" - WICH MEANS THE STATE BETWEEN STATE /A/ AND STATE /B/.
IT MEANS IN SHORT THAT AT A TRANCE PARTY THE PARTICIPENTS ARE SOME HOW NOT EFFECTED BY RULES OF BEHAVIOR THAT EXIST IN THEIR SOCIETY, AND SINCE MOST OF THEM ARE YOUNG PEOPLE, HE CLAIMS THAT THE REASON FOR PUTING YOURSELF IN THAT "LIMINAL STATE" IS BEING UN-SUDESFY WITH YOUR SOCIETY RULES AND UN-WRITEN RULES. IN SHORT.

HE POINTS OUT THAT THE TRANCE SCENE IS FLORASHING IN EVERY COUNTRY WHERE THERE IS A "MORAL CUT OUT" BETWEEN THE OLD GENERATION AND THE YOUNG GENERATION.

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vagator
im curious why specificalyu israelies are responsible for ruining goa )being one who has never been thier).

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It is a very complete article and accessible for those who want to understand the trance's roots. A3K, U r The Real!